ON STAGE THEATER & MUSIC. CONCERTLINE/MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS.

`Roses' should do it

McWilson's 20 years of work deserve renown

April 05, 2002|By Rick Reger. Special to the Tribune.

After listening to Christy McWilson's great new CD, "Bed of Roses," it's hard to believe the singer-songwriter has knocked around the music business for 20 years without achieving more renown. Although McWilson's girl group the Dynette Set received some notoriety in the '80s, and her fine roots-rock band the Picketts expanded her audience in the '90s, McWilson remained better known among musicians than among the public. "Bed of Roses" should change all that, as it memorably showcases McWilson's yearning, honey-smooth voice and her infectious, beautifully crafted country-rock songwriting. Her current touring band includes fan Dave Alvin and Young Fresh Fellows pop-smith Scott McCaughey.

PAUL McCARTNEY, Wednesday at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St.; 312-559-1212: While Paul McCartney's current tour has added significance because he performs so infrequently and because of heightened Beatle nostalgia after George Harrison's death, it also merits attention thanks to McCartney's low-key, surprisingly appealing new CD, "Driving Rain." Although the disc contains some fluffy pop throwaways, many of the lean, informal-sounding tracks boast strong hooks and truly impassioned performances.

TANYA DONELLY, Friday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.; 773-549-0203: Nearly 20 years after debuting with Throwing Muses and a decade after striking gold with Belly, singer-songwriter Tanya Donelly proves she can still make beguiling, left-of-center music with her new CD, "Beautysleep." The disc consolidates the many facets of Donelly's career by mixing ethereal, eerily vaporous reveries with more straightforward, gently melodic pop/rock.

FACE TO FACE, Monday at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St.; 312-923-2000: Simply put, there isn't a punk band around with a more devastating command of the irresistible pop hook than Face To Face, and the veteran trio's willingness to experiment (recently with a string orchestra) has made its records consistently refreshing and surprising. The band's superb new CD, "How to Ruin Everything," is a deliberate nod to past punk greats that potently recalls the Jam, the Pistols and the Ramones with a bonfire of ruggedly tuneful riffing and hollering.

THE NELS CLINE SINGERS, Wednesday at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.; 773-525-2508: Keeping listeners guessing has been a constant foradventurous guitarist Nels Cline, whose resume encompasses avant-jazz improvising and crusty country rock (with the Geraldine Fibbers). Cline's new trio, the Nels Cline Singers, has no vocalist, but its new CD, "Instrumentals," does serve up compelling rock/jazz explorations of plaintive melody and fierce dissonance.

OTHER CONCERTS

NO DOUBT, Saturday at the Aragon (sold out). "No Identity" would be a better name for this photogenic pop quartet whose Top 40 fixation has led it to embrace ska, punk and straight pop. However, on its new CD, "Rock Steady," No Doubt takes its style-hopping to schizoid extremes by dabbling variously in New Wave, dancehall, techno-pop and even Britney/'NSYNC-style teen beats. The result: some catchy singles but a weirdly unfocused album.

ROB ZOMBIE, Friday at the Aragon, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave.; 312-559-1212: The old Alice Cooper band learned that if you pumped enough show biz glitz into sleaze, it became "entertainment," and Rob Zombie knows that too. Backed by an orchestra and mega-buck production values, the techno-metal, horror flick rock on his recent record, "The Sinister Urge," evokes a Las Vegas revue more vividly than it does society's underbelly.

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Thursday at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.; 773-525-2508: Specializing in "sound" rather than songs, this quartet uses a unique blend of acoustic bass and guitar, woodwinds and tuned percussion to create understated, bell-toned instrumentals that tread the line between improvisation and composition. On its recent CD, "C'mon," Town and Country's music recalls both the pointillistic cool jazz of Bill Evans and Morton Feldman-style minimalism.